Background Music

Hot off the loom! Rainbow scarf - 10 dent, 65 x 12 inches (without fringe), KP Felici yarn both warp and weft.

I've been thinking a lot about music of late. What I listen to, new music, old music, background music. I just finished weaving a scarf on the big loom, it took me several days. I found I could get in the 'zone' with the right background music and not look up until my back reminded me it was time for a break. I think I need to keep track in my weaving logbook of which music went with which scarf - although I mostly can remember, the scarf brings the music back. For the riotous rainbow scarf above, I felt the urge to listen to John Denver. Don't laugh, but songs like Rocky Mountain High and Calypso made the scarf speed along. (Must be the rainbow) I also listened to American Folk music on this scarf - antique songs like Old Dan Tucker, Rock Island Line, and Erie Canal (Which I remember singing in elementary school).

A previous scarf was done to a punk rock band, another to an alternative band. It's a mystery to me which music will work with which project. I also listen to music while warping my loom, an hour to two hour process. Sometimes it sets the stage for what I'll listen to while weaving. Other times, not so much. I can't write to music, though, I need silence and the thoughts in my head for that, with no competition.

I seem to be stuck in the past of late when it comes to music - I'm listening to artists that started out in the '60's and '70's and are still performing today. One straddles the lines between folk, jazz, country, blues and rock. Maybe that's why I like listening to him. It's taking me a lot to come out of my comfort zone. I listen to the same folk artists, same metal band, same alternative bands, same punk rock. I was recently introduced to a bluesy country band and was actually tempted to buy their album. Unheard of! Usually I wait until my old favorites come out with a new album before I buy any music. I'm on the verge of doing something new. Not sure what to make of that...

So how does music inhabit your life?  Do you do certain tasks to music? Selected music or the radio? (I must confess here I haven't listened to the radio in over two years. Not much musical selection in Wyoming.)  Is there a band or artist I'm missing out on? I'll give most anything a try - except pop country. I do draw the line there. What say you?

April Poem A Day Challenge Day 4

Happy Easter, I hope everyone had plenty of chocolate bunny ears. Today's prompt from Poetic Asides involved history, which is normally one of my favorite subjects.

"For today's prompt, write a history poem. This could mean a poem about your country's history, the history of an event or a tool, or even your own personal history. Hey, you could even write about the history of a relationship. The history of everything is fair game."

The drawback of a prompt like this is that it is incredibly broad. History of a person, place or thing can encompass a multitude of ideas. I suffered from temporary paralysis as I considered the possibilities. I started with a poem that talked about the relationship of history and time. There's a seed there, but it wasn't ready to sprout into anything coherent yet. I made notes on the idea - what, you don't take notes and do research for poems?? I thought everyone did - and went on to another topic.

My muse, being the PITA he is at times, kept looping Iron and Wine's song History of Lovers through my head. I love the song, find the lyrics fascinating. . . but wasn't sure how it was going to help me to have music on endless replay in my head. My muse went out for coffee and left me, ear worm and all, to figure something out on my own. Smart muse, preserving his skin and my sanity all at once. A little while later, History of Lovers departed of its own accord and my poem tiptoed in in its place.

A History of Tuna.

Honest. That's what it's titled. It's not about fishing, or biology, but rather about lunch and the dangers of grabbing the wrong brown paper bag out of the refrigerator as a kid. Yeah, well, nobody said every poem for this challenge would be Shakespeare.

To get the image of tuna sandwiches out of your head, have a listen to History of Lovers by Iron and Wine. Lyrics after the playbox.

History Of Lovers
by Iron & Wine

Louise only got from me innocent poetry
Although she played to not listen
But still I can hear myself speak as if no one else
Ever could offer the same

Some say she knowingly tastes like a recipe
Although so foolish and willing
I said Babe I can picture you bend as if wanting to
Bow as the curtain went down

Coddle some men, they’ll remember you bitterly
Fuck ‘em, they’ll come back for more
I asked my Louise would she leave and so cripple me
Then came a knock at the door

“I came for my woman,” he came with a razor blade
Bound like us all for the ocean
I hope that she’s happy I’m blamed for the death of
The man who would take her from me

Some they saw in me innocent poetry
Some, say they’ll never be certain
But still it’s been written, a history of lovers
Given and taken in ink

Coddle some men, they’ll remember you fittingly
Cut ‘em, they’ll come back for more
I asked my Louise would she leave and so cripple me
Then came the knock at the door

Louise came to rescue me; listen, the irony:
Blood made her heart change its beating
I hope that she’s happy I’m blamed for the death of
The man she found better than me

Palindrome Madness

Busy this week. But not too busy to enjoy the oddities that come from surfing YouTube. In keeping with the rather loose poetry theme of the blog, here's a nifty example of palindromes, set to music. Weird Al with the song "Bob". (A take-off on Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues, down to the vest and haircut.)

Remember your Poetry 101.

Palindrome ( ) n. A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward.

And for those of you who were wondering what it would sound like if you played the song backwards... a YouTube someone has done all the work for you. The song "Bob" in Reverse.

Enjoy! Surfing for Weirdness so You Don't Have To. Unless you want to. Then by all means, go ahead. Knock yourself out. And don't forget to share.

Music to Write Novels By (Well, Kind of)

I like my Outreach activities because of the long drive to other parts of the state. It gives me time to ponder writing, either problem stories and resolutions, plot twists for the UFN (Unfinished Fantasy Novel), or a place to recite poem lines out loud, with revisions, and not have anyone call the men in the white coats. Being the spiffy ADD multitasker I am, I also had my iPod playing. Normally I listen to podcasts or audiobooks, but sometimes, like today, I flip it to shuffle. The juxtaposition of some of the music I get can be startling, enlightening, or annoying, depending on the whim of the Shuffle Gods.

Last time I checked I only had 2000 songs on my iPod. A drop in the auditory bucket compared to many people. Genres run the gamut from Alternative to World, with heaping helpings of Folk and Soundtracks, which is what usually accompanies me when I write. I know I've mentioned before I have "Music to Write Battle Scenes By", "Instrumentals for Social Commentary Poems", and "Tunes for Tormenting Protagonists".

So I was driving across the upper right hand corner of nowhere, hoping the turkeys stayed in the median, the mule deer on the side of the road, and the eagle in the sky above me, thinking about the UFN, which is really the AFFN (Almost Finished Fantasy Novel). I retraced plots in my mind, found a few loose ends, and was meditating on overall themes when a song came on the iPod, and the Muse of The Totally Obvious reached through the speakers and slapped me upside the head. (Hey, at least it wasn't a wild turkey running into the side of the car. I hate when that happens.)

Muse of TTO: "Listen up. You're whining about theme? I got your theme right here." WHAP

There it was, the song that summed up the AFFN. "One of Us" by Joan Osborne. (YouTube Video)

I listened. I thought about it. I grudgingly admitted the song was perfect in its own way for the AFFN, and put up with the boozy glow of self-satisfaction emanating from the Muse of TTO.

Muse of TTO: "Told you so. Now you try it. Just for a few minutes, I'll allow you to think on the Half-Finished Fantasy Novel (HFN) and those characters. Then I'll give you a hint in the next ten songs."

Me: "How are you controlling my iPod? You and your brother, the Luddite Muse, swore you didn't know anything about 'high-flutin' machinery gobbledegook', which is why I had to write fantasy if I wanted your help."

Muse of TTO: *mumbling* "I took a class, okay? Now shut up and listen."

By the time I slowed to read the minds of a herd of mule deer thinking – not very hard- of crossing the road, played pass the gravel truck and trailer to avoid a chipped windshield, and caught a regulation sized tumbleweed with my front bumper, the songs changed several times, and there it was. The song that summed up the HFN. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by Neil Diamond. (YouTube Video)

"You got to be kidding me," I said aloud.

Muse of TTO: WHAP. "I never kid."

"Horsehockey," I replied, "you always kid, which is why I can never tell when you're actually serious about something. Matter of fact, most of your ideas border on Writer Abuse. Waiting until I'm knee deep in a book then barrage me with interesting ideas for others."

Muse of TTO: "Yeah, that was rather amusing. Gabriele's Muse bet me your head would eventually explode. I figured you would forget 2/3rds of the ideas I gave you before you wrote them down. You're lucky the Short Story Muse swooped in and coerced a few of the ideas to her realm."

The iPod shuffles to a new tune. "Why can't I have a Pink Floyd song for a theme?" I whine.

Muse of TTO: WHAP. "Because. 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'"

A plethora of gnome-like giggles comes from the back seat as I stifle a groan. "Fine." I crank the volume. "What about the MishMashed SciFi Novel?" (MSN)

Muse of TTO: "Since you are so all over the map with that one, I'll give you TWO songs to think about."

For a moment I thought the first would be "Donald Where's Your Troosers?" (YouTube Video) but it didn't really fit the MSN, and the TTO Muse wouldn't be that cruel. Would he? Nope, just a scare.

So I was left with The Patriot Game, (YouTube Video) by any self respecting Irish band, and Still Waiting by Sum41. (YouTube Video)

"You've got to be… uh, the best Muse of any struggling writer," I amend hastily.

Muse of TTO: "Damn straight. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a poker game to get to. Last time, we bankrupted Scott Oden's Finishing Muse and left him drunk, naked, and bunked on a submarine headed to Oslo, Norway.* Most fun I've had in years. Vi sees." With a dimension ripping, radio static POP, I'm alone again. I drive, and return to novel ruminations.

As I pass by the gate to a local ranch, there on top of a mailbox post, with a red balloon tied to his pipe hand, is a garden gnome. I barely had time to register the pointy hat and beard before my car flashed past. Was this the site of the elusive Muse-Gnome poker party? Or was it just the usual garden variety rural humor?

I didn't have to ponder too hard on that one. The song playing on the iPod as I barreled by the Ranch Gnome? "Wish You Were Here", by Pink Floyd. (YouTube Video)

Writers, if any of your Muses come up missing in the next few days, I think I know where they are…

*I am no way implying Scott is drunk, naked, and on a submarine off the coast of Norway. I think the Muse was implying it was Scott's Finishing Muse, but it wasn't quite clear over the raucous Gnome giggles just who the TTO Muse was talking about...